How To Take Care Of Your Book Lover 101

Let’s face it: not everyone can understand book lovers. Many people don’t get why bibliophiles spend a lot of time scouring secondhand bookstores, or why they like sniffing paperback pages.

Do you like a book lover but are not sure how to relate to them?

Don’t worry I’ve put together a guide to help you out.

Here’s a crash course on How To Take Care Of Your Book Lover:

When they tell you the book was better than the movie, agree with all your heart. They’re probably right anyway.

Allow your book lover to spend at least two hours walking between bookstore aisles, even if they don’t end up buying a book.

Get sorted into a Hogwarts house ASAP. And do not, under any circumstance, refer to Severus Snape as “that bad guy”.

Do not be a barbarian and dog-ear any of their book pages. Civilized human beings use bookmarks, you know.

Listen attentively when they’re retelling the plot of this awesome book they just read. Be on the lookout for plot holes— book nerds love a good discussion.

Know the difference between a paperback and a hardcover. This information is critical during book shopping.

Allow ample time for them to decide which book cover they want to get. It’s literally the same book, but hey, matching book covers matter.

Feed your booklover regularly. They tend to forget meals when engrossed in an excellent book.

Allow modern bookish comforts in your home, i.e., fluffy armchairs, big pillows and a cabinet full of midnight snacks.

Take your book lover to a book cafe, library or book pop-up. They’ll thank you for it!

Help them rearrange their shelves (alphabetically, by author or by color)

Do remind your booknerd to rest their eyes once every hour when reading.

Do NOT remind them of the growing pile of unread books at home.

Do not give them weird looks when they smell their books. This behavior is completely normal among nerds.

Allow yourself to be tagged in the bajillion book giveaways they join in social media.

Support their book blogging and writing endeavors. Provide constructive criticism (writers love that!) and leave a kudos on their fanfiction entries on Archive Of Our Own.

If they’re not replying to your messages, they’re probably endlessly scrolling through fanart on Tumblr and are otherwise unavailable.

Assign the bookstore as the designated meetup place when you’re at the mall. Again, they’ll thank you for it.

Be on a first name basis with the attendants of their fave bookstores so you get first dibs on sales and news. They’ll be super impressed.

Volunteer to clear a path for them during giant book sales like Big Bad Wolf. Box people out if you can. Remember, you’re doing this in the name of love. (Just kidding, shoving people out of the way is just rude, man.)

Console your book lover when their favorite character gets killed off. Gestures to make them feel better include: ice cream, desserts and/or a new book where NOBODY dies.

Volunteer to hold their place in line when their favorite author comes over for a book signing.

If you don’t know what to get them for Christmas, a gift card from their favorite bookstore will suffice.

While many book lovers appreciate the usual flower bouquet for Valentine’s Day, some may want you to give them other gifts ie books, books, and more books.

Of course, you can also give them a clip-on book lamp to help them read in the dark, or a set of magnetic bookmarks or a book set of that series that they’re eyeing at the bookstore.

Embrace your booklover’s little quirks.

Don’t bother aiming to be just like your booklover’s literary crush. That standard is way too high for a normal human being. Just be yourself and genuinely connect with your book nerd. They love a sincere scenario.

Allow your booklover some ample “me” time. While there are nerds who constantly thrive in the presence of crowds and groups of friends, many nerds are introverts who need a quiet moment at home to replenish their energies. Just because they’re not talking to you doesn’t mean they don’t like hanging out with you. Sometimes you gotta give your booklover time to hang out with themselves, too.

I hope you find this crash course helpful! Share this with someone who wants to shower their book nerd with some good ole love and affection.

If I missed anything, don’t hesitate to comment down below! We love a good bookish care moment. 🙂